Awkward holiday moment inspired my unique swimwear side hustle that got attention of Dragons’ Den, say bye to tan lines

A SAVVY mum has revealed how she turned an embarrassing moment on holiday with her kids into an impressive side hustle with worldwide demand. Paula Masterson, from Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, had hit a point where she no longer felt comfortable going topless but hated the tan lines traditional swimwear left. Soaking up the sunshine five years ago, the dilemma sparked an inspired fashion idea. The mum of two, 44, told Fabulous: "When my daughters were around five and eight, we were on holiday in Portugal and had a villa.

"I used to always go topless, as you do in your twenties. You forget how good your body was when you don't have it anymore. "And it was my older daughter, she was just like ‘boobies’. And it just made me feel super self-conscious. "I wasn't feeling great about my body anyway, post having children. "And I thought, I don't want to go topless anymore. Imagine if you could tan through swimwear. And I pretty much just lay there and had the idea for years and years and years.".

Soon after, lockdown saw the country grind to a halt with people left with more free time and nowhere to go, and Paula was able to devote the time to make her dream business a reality. She was "utterly disappointed" with swimwear on the racks that didn't fit right, didn't suit her skin, and offered no chance to tan safely without harsh lines or overexposure. And so, SWIMSARA Tan-Through Swimwear, became a brand born out of her personal frustration and passion for change.

Paula - whose daughters are now 10 and 13 - designs and produces her luxury tan-through swimsuits and bikinis, priced from around £79, that only lets UVA rays through. In turn, this allows the patented fabric to give shoppers a natural, even tan and promote healthy vitamin D absorption, while blocking harmful UVB rays that cause burning. It also comes with a built-in SPF, is quick-drying, super stretchy, and supportive.

And she managed to set it all up from her home office. She explained: "It was launched on a small budget because the start up was just the website and the samples. And then when I sold, I just made more. "It worked perfectly. So I just started to build it. "It started off as a side hustle. It is still a side hustle, if you like, but I've just been working more and more and more on it, year after year after year. And it's just building and building gradually.

"I love it, not just for the tan lines, for everything else. Surely it's not just about fashion. It's being a bit more functional around your fashion. And giving you more than just that. "Plus you can print any design on it. It doesn't fade. It stays bright. It's really stretchy.". Paula, originally from Tamworth, Staffordshire, moved to Scotland for university at 17 and has remained north of the border ever since.

And she prides herself on keeping her company Scotland-based. From her 'SWIMSARA room' where she draws all of her designs and works with samples to the Glasgow factory where two women create her products, everything is done locally. She said: "Literally everything I have is in a laptop at my home office, my Swimsara room as I call it. "I've got a neon light, a mannequin, all my samples, drawers of stuff, packaging, you name it, cameras, light boxes. You just learn as you do it, what works, what looks good.".

Paula, who works in the food and drink industry, added: "I've built brands for other people. I've developed products for other retailers and I've always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit in myself. "When I had my first child, while I was on maternity, I had a wedding business. I just like doing stuff myself. I like starting something from nothing. "And I love going on holiday. I love being in the sun.".

The swimwear brand already has a huge fanbase worldwide - especially in Florida, USA - and even caught the attention of BBC show producers. "I got asked for Dragons' Den when I first started out, but I just wasn't ready", the entrepreneur revealed. "I didn't want to get ripped apart at that stage, if you know what I mean, because they're ruthless. "I think you've got to be really ready to do something like that.".